Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-06-12
GOTHAM TOWN.
rHR LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF LIFE
IN HRw YORK.
The Sunday Lsw-Ingenious Lays Con-
dsnsed Lightning The story
writer-Actors-Play-
Grounds.
icorrespOndonce Of the Richmond Dispatch.

ICorreepondonce Of the Richmond Dispatch,
New YORK, June IL, 1887.
Everybody sells liquor on SUNDAYS
now, and the result of the reaction is
that half the town is intoxicated on the
day that is dedicated to religion. From
afamine il has grown TO be flood. At
Terrace Garden Sunday night there was
a theatrical performance and wine
drinking at the same time. II was
Rhine wine. In ordering it one was
obliged 10 call for German cider"
have been enabled to get the fol-
lowing extracts of the opinions of the
well-known lawyer Edward l.. An
drews, on which the great fight against
the blue-laws will be made next week.
On one sideis an antiquated statute on
the other the vast liquor and hotel in
terests of New York, with their wealth
OF brains, assurance, energy, "pull,
and capital. The hquor-men will win.
Mr.. Andrews said
1.-THE legislation of New York does
not authorize any interference between
hotel-keepers and their guests. The
laws in question were drawn to regulate
dram.drinking and not bookkeeping.
Hotels do not exist by sufierance ON
the contrary, they are favored by the
common law. Sunday travelling is
lawful and hquor-selling on Sunday is
not common-law offence. Hence, inns
which are maintained as a convenience
for the travelling public may furnish
lQuors. &c, on Sunday.
Whenever the English Parliament
has legislated on the Sunday liquor
traffic it has carefully protected the
rights Of inns. For example, the sta
tutes of William and Victoria contain
exceptions like the following;
Provided always that nothing here
in contained shall extend to prohibit
the sale of spirits, wine, or beer to
traveller or to persons lodging in the
house"
The line of legislation in New York
is similar.
The revised statutes Of this State,
after prohibiting the sale of liquors ON
Sunday, contain the following safe
guard Of hotel rights:
Excepting to dodgers in such inns
or taverns or TO persons actually travel
ling on that day in the cases allowed
by law"
Careful examination of all the laws
passed since 1880 shows that the above
exception is still in force, and is to-
DAY the law of the land. 1t has never
been expressly repealed, though the
Legislature has repealed the title I'M
mediately succeeding It, Implied re-
poals are disfavored, and no repug-
nancy exists between this exception
in favor Of the homes of 50 many citi
zens and the closing of the barroOms.
On the other hand, instead Of re-
pealing the Legislature has frequent
~ affirmed The principle involved i'll
the foregoing extract from the revision.
Tie act of 1869. after prohibiting
midnight and Sunday liquor sales,
says;
Nothing herein contained shall be
construed to prevent hotels from re-
c,lying and otherwise entertaining the
travelling public on Sunday, subject to
the restrictions contained in this act. -
4 similar exception is inserted In the
acts ct 1857 and 1873, being the sta
tutes on which the present measures
against hotel-keepers are based.
The settled policy of the State thus
expressed should be considered side
by side with the section prohibiting
"sales of liquors, SC, on Sundays and
eltction-days to any person Whatever as
a beverage. This rule is well estab-
lished, and as the Legislature cannot
express in one breath all its mandates
on any given subject, the rule is abso-
lutely requisite in order to get at the
whole truth. With this principle in
view a solution is easily reached, by
simply Joining the several clauses re-
lating to the same subject matter Lee
eally speaking the entire Legislative
conception is at present thus substan-
italy expressed:
You shall not sell liquors on
Sunday to any person as beverage,
but YOU may receive and entertain
dodgers and travellers at any time"
The whole legislative object is thus
achieved. Bar-rooms are closed, dram
drinking is stopped, but the unwar-
rsntable result is avoided of debating
What citizen shall consume at his hotel
and ON his dinnertable.
The fight will be made on this basis.
1t will be an interesting struggle, but
there is small doubt of the result. New
York is weary of the hay-seed govern
ment of back county farmers, and will
take the law into her own hands.
FORTUNES MADE BY A TOY.
The ingenious toy maker of old who
made a coach and-four, complete as to
all details, so small that the shell OF Il
hezlenut would cover it, has been sur
passed in the line OF ingenious play
things bv a Rhode Island Yankee.
With true Yankee shrewdness this toy
maker has so constructed his creations
that they make money and draw 1t
from two channels into one Golfer
The devices are the little gold and sill
yer steamboats,, locomotives, fire
engines and Corliss engines, which are
found in the luxurious New York sa-
Icons and hotel Hobbies, in one amuse-
ment hall, and III public resorts all
over the Union. The idea of con-
structing these TOYS, whose mechanism
should be made TO move by dropping
pickels into slot in the pedestal on
which they rested originated with an
ingenious New England model-maker,
and fortunes are now being made out
of the enterprise. One large firm in
Providence, Il. l., has q large factory
devoted entirely to the business and
scores Of men employed. Strange to
saw. tie makers refuse to sell their
goods. Last week the proprietor of the
principal hotelon Union Square offered
the manufacturer in question $1,000
for the model Of q steam fire-engine,
the machinery Of which runs to the
tunes OF a music.box after one has
dropped a nickel into the slot in the
pedestal. The offer was refused
because the firm never permits
its goods to 90 out of its possession.
They lease the toys for the hand
some sum OF $50 per month or give
the proprietors of profitable resorts a
percentage of the income In cases
where a percentage is given the collec-
tor Of bank, designated by the own
trs. calls once a week 10 clean out the